Bitcloud wants to decentralise the internet, will pay you to help

Bitcloud, using the same method used to create Bitcoins, plans to rebuild the internet so it's no longer controlled by internet service providers, governments and corporations.

This decentralising will mean users perform tasks like storing, routing and providing bandwidth, for which they will get paid.

It will work much like botnets do, using small amounts of power and bandwidth across huge numbers of machines for an overall provision. When one connection fails or is shut down another can be used - much like the connections in the brain or peer-to-peer sharing.

Adding a profit motive should help to get things up and running. A currency called Cloudcoins will be used to administer payment on this network.

"If you're interested in privacy, security, ending internet censorship, decentralising the internet and creating a new mesh network to replace the internet, then you should join or support this project," the group said.

The unnamed creators of the project are seeking developers now. It's still in the very early stages but could make big changes to the way artists make money. WeTube is a platform that could help achieve this by sharing everything freely.

"WeTube can act as a replacement for YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Soundcloud, Spotify and other audio video streaming services," it said and then proposed that artists could be paid from a percentage of the advertising revenues.

While this would be a huge leap forward, it's also a difficult project to implement. We're excited by its potential but can't help be sceptical about its chances of survival. But with the proven success of Bitcoin already there's definitely hope here.